Azad said many countries have "regulatory framework" for
healthcare and the Bill, which has already been passed by the
Lok Sabha in the last session, provided the same.

He said as per the Constitution, Health is a state subject
and the Bill was being introduced as four states - Arunachal
Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim - passed a
resolution in their respective Assemblies in favour of the
measure.

It will also be applicable to the Union Territories and
other states if they pass a resolution adopting the Bill.

The main objective of the new statute is to bring
uniformity in the healthcare delivery by making registration
of all clinical establishments mandatory and prescribing
enhanced penalty for defaulters.

Under provisions of the Bill, the clinical establishments
would include hospitals, maternity homes, nursing homes,
dispensaries, clinics and similar facilities with beds that
offer diagnosis, treatment or care for illness or injury or
pregnancy in any recognised system of medicine such as
Allopathy, Yoga, Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Siddha
and Unani.

It also includes any laboratory which offers pathological,
bacteriological, genetic, radiological, chemical, biological
and other diagnostic or investigative services. The
establishments can be owned by the government or a department
of the government, a Trust (public or private), a corporation
(including a cooperative society), a local authority or a
single doctor establishment.

Initiating a discussion on the Bill, Rama Jois (BJP)
lamented that only four states have adopted it so far and
pointed out to problems of medical laboratories in the
country.

Highlighting the problem of unregulated laboratories, he
said there was no provision in the Bill that such laboratories
should be accredited.

He said the state governments should fix the rates for all
tests and no lab should charge more than the prescribed rate.

Sudarsana Natchiappan (Congress) listed achievements of
the UPA government in providing healthcare to the people. He
wanted a record of the doctors, who get their degrees with the
taxpayer`s money and then migrate abroad.

Avtar Singh Karimpuri (BSP) felt the Bill was more in
favour of the corporate hospitals.